Mathematics in BrazilKayla Lindroos & Meghan Aadland

Location

Located in South America; South of Venezuela and East of Peru

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Quick Facts About Brazil Largest nation in South America

covering over half of the continent’s land

Culture and language is derived from Portugal

Population is well over 205 million

Education System Broken down into 3 levels:

Fundamental Intermediate Higher Education

Undergraduate Graduate

Preschool is added to help children under 7

Education System Minimum 180 days

Excluding tests and exams Compared to U.S.

Rural areas school year

Fundamental Level Required for children 7-14 8 grades Annual 800 hours of activities Earlier entrance is allowed

Intermediate Level Must finish Fundamental School At 21, a student can take other courses 2,200 hours of school work over 3

grades

Higher Education Isolated schools or universities Research Undergraduate

Further Studies Graduate

Lato Sensu Updating Specializing

Stricto Sensu Master Doctorate courses

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Mathematics in Brazil Many career opportunities in Brazil that

are related to mathematics A recent study showed that 71% of 3rd

grade students were not at the mathematical level that they should be at

Poor performance in lower level math contributes to poor performance in upper level math

Lacking math teachers in Brazil

Teachers in Brazil Many open positions for mathematics

teachers in Brazil Some teachers of math in Brazil are

unqualified Many teachers use online math games and

activities to increase mathematical skills Teachers believe online games and

activities will increase drive to learn mathematics

Competitive Schools in Brazil Schools compete against one another in

terms of how many math skills can be mastered

Ex. One school mastered 24 math skills, while another only mastered 6 in a given week

Test scores show comparisons of what schools know and need to work on

Improvement in Test Scores Teachers in Brazil believe that

improvement in test scores comes from a positive attitude

Knowledge of basic mathematical functions and skills

Practice math skills often

OECD 2000 How much children are learning

Half of Brazilian children finished primary education

¾ adults illiterate More than 1/10 completely

Not many people cared Private schools

Making Headway

Is It Getting Better? Disastrous to very bad

2/3 15 year olds still cannot do more than basic math

½ still cannot understand what they read School spending is wasted

Teachers retire on full pay 25 years women 30 years men

50% budget go on pensions

What’s to come for Brazil? Next decade? Better teachers

References "BRAZIL - EDUCATION.” BRAZIL – EDUCATION. N.p., n.d.

Web. 26 Nov. 2013. <http://www.un.int/brazil/brasil/brazil-education.htm>.

“Geography.” Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 24 Nov, 2013, http://www.infoplease.com/country/brazil.html>.

"No Longer Bottom of the Class." KPMG. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. <http://www.economist.com/node/17679798>.

"How brazilian students are using math games." PORVIR. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. <http://porvir.org/en/porpensar/brazilian-students-games-learn-math/20130925>.